Dancing Together
by Lady Psychic
Summary: [oneshot, Azureshipping] Kaiba needs to learn to dance and Mokuba inlists Tea to help him.


_A/N: Hey everybody! This story has been written for the YGO Fanfiction Contest: Season 2. The pairing for this story is azureshipping (Seto x Tea). This will also be a one-shot._

_Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh or its characters._

**Dancing Together**

It was a hot summer afternoon in Domino City and Yugi, Tea, Joey, and Tristen were all resting in the cool comfort of the game shop. As they were chatting about some random topic, the door to the shop suddenly swung open. The group turned around to see none other than Mokuba Kaiba at the entrance.

Yugi greeted the younger Kaiba brother and approached him with a smile.

"Hey guys", said Mokuba, "I'm sorry if I'm interrupting anything, but I need to talk to Tea for a moment."

Surprised, Tea walked towards the boy and asked, "What's wrong, Mokuba? What do you need to talk to me about?" Her friends, who were just as curious as she was, began to approach the boy as well. Soon, they were all gathered around Mokuba as they waited to hear what he had to say.

"Well," he began, "my brother was invited to a dinner banquet by a potential business client. Normally, he would have said no, but the business deal he is trying to make with this guy is very important for some reason. The problem is that everyone who comes has to bring a date, and they are required to dance. My brother doesn't have a date yet, but I'm sure he can find someone in time. However, the truth is…. Seto doesn't know how to dance!"

Once Mokuba finished, Joey and Tristen burst out laughing while Yugi and Tea looked at Mokuba with understanding expressions on their faces. After a few seconds, Tea asked, "Do you want me to teach Kaiba how to dance?"

The boy nodded his head and replied, "Yes! It's your dream to become a professional dancer, right? Well, I figured that you could teach Seto a few dance steps."

"But Mokuba, I've never taught someone how to dance before," said Tea. "Besides, Kaiba is probably able to hire a professional dance teacher, anyways."

Mokuba sighed, "He probably could hire anyone he wanted, but he didn't want to attract unwanted media attention. Also, you know that my brother has difficulty when it comes to trusting people. He may not fully trust you yet, but at least he knows that you aren't a spy or something."

Before Mokuba could continue, Joey interrupted. "I don't know 'bout this. You know Kaiba doesn't like us much. No offense, kid, but your brother's a prick. He'd probably just give Tea a hard time." Tristen nodded in agreement, but Yugi still felt they should help. Tea, however, wasn't quite sure what to do.

Sensing the girl's distress, Yugi turned to her and said, "I think you should help. Kaiba may seem cold, but maybe if you spent some time with him, you could teach him that friendship can be a good thing. Besides, Mokuba is our friend and friends help each other, right?"

After hearing Yugi's words, Tea made her decision. "Alright, Mokuba," she said, "I'll see what I can do. I don't know if I can convince your brother accept my help, but I'll at least try." Mokuba gave a big grin and told her to meet him at his mansion later that night. Tea agreed and smiled as she saw Mokuba cheerfully leave the game shop.

Still, she had doubts that the elder Kaiba brother would allow her to help him.

Needless to say, Seto Kaiba wasn't very happy that evening when he came home from a long, tiring day at work only to find both Mokuba and Tea waiting for him. When he demanded to know why the girl was at their mansion, his younger brother began to inform him about the plan. Kaiba could have sworn that he felt a migraine forming.

"Look, Mokuba," he scowled, "I'm not in the mood for this. I don't need anybody's help, much less hers."

"But big brother," replied Mokuba, "I really do think Tea can help. After all, you really do need to learn how to dance. She could teach you, if you would just let her."

Kaiba had to admit that his younger brother did have a valid point. The business deal that would ensue from leaving a good impression at this otherwise stupid dinner banquet would greatly benefit the company. However, he would not get the deal if he made a fool of himself. So, after calculating this fact along with several other factors, he came to a decision.

"Fine, I will accept her help for now," announced the elder brother. Mokuba smiled and was satisfied with his brother's answer. Kaiba, however, turned his attention to Tea and gave her a cold glare. "However," he continued in a harsh tone, "do not think this means my feelings about the girl and her little group of friends have changed. She will have three weeks to teach me the waltz. After she is done and the banquet is over, I do not wish to see her in this house again. Do I make myself clear?" Tea and Mokuba nodded, while Kaiba turned around and silently left the room.

The next day, the dancing lessons began. Though the waltz wasn't Tea's specialty, she knew the basic steps and tried her best to teach Kaiba. Yet, difficulties arose when it came time for them to practice the dance steps together. Kaiba seemed somewhat hesitant to take Tea's hand and get into position.

The girl sighed and muttered, "Look Kaiba, this is a dance where both partners participate. I know you don't really like me, but if you want to be ready to dance with whoever your dinner date is, then we have to work together. This isn't a duel where one person wins and dominates. A dance like the waltz is a team effort in which both partners must fulfill their roles. I know that you prefer to do things by yourself, but you must accept that there are some things that you just can't do alone! Sooner or later, you will have to learn to trust other people besides your brother."

After Tea stopped ranting, Kaiba cursed under his breath before he took her hand and they began to practice. The young dancer tried to keep her focus on the task at hand and correct Kaiba every time he made a mistake, but she couldn't help but to take a good look at him. 'I have to admit that he is a good looking guy', she thought to herself. 'It's too bad that his personality is as cold as ice.'

The next couple of days passed by and the lessons continued. Tea was amazed about how quickly Kaiba mastered the waltz. Within only a few days, he had mastered the steps perfectly. Even when he danced with Tea, he didn't seem quite as tense and hesitant as he did the first day. The girl was happy that the lessons were going smoothly, but she also had a growing feeling that Kaiba would decide that he no longer needed her help.

That fear was realized about a week and a half after she began teaching him how to dance. Tea came to the mansion that evening, but instead of going to the large empty guest room that they had been using, she was led into the living room where Kaiba waited. She stood in front of the young man and anxiously waited for him to speak.

"I must admit that I'm quite pleased with the results of your lessons. For that, you have my gratitude," said Kaiba. Tea briefly felt relief wash over her until his expression became colder and he continued. "However, it has come to my attention that my dancing skills have improved; thus, I no longer need your services. I now kindly ask that you remove yourself from my mansion."

The dancer's eyes widened in shock as the words echoed in her head. "What!" she exclaimed, "That's it?! I thought that…" Before she could finish, Kaiba had cut her off.

"I told you that once you were done, I didn't want to see you at this house again," he coldly replied. "It just so happened that I learned the dance sooner than I predicted. Now leave before I call security."

"But we still need to practice or you will get rusty," Tea sadly murmured, but her words fell on deaf ears. Kaiba just glared at her, and she had to fight to keep herself from crying. After a few moments of silence, she shouted "Fine!" before she stormed out of the mansion with tears pouring from her eyes.

As Kaiba watched the girl leave, he felt a pain of guilt rise up. He tried to dismiss the feeling to the deepest parts within himself, but the guilt just kept coming back. 'It is better this way,' he thought to himself. 'I was getting too attached to her. She did what she needed to do, and now that she's gone, things can return to normal.' Yet, no matter how hard he tried to convince himself, he still couldn't help but feel guilty.

The next day, Kaiba decided to confront Tea. He figured that she would most likely be found at the game shop, and sure enough, he saw her there with her group of friends. As he made his entrance, the girl's friends were shocked at first before their expressions quickly changed to anger.

"What do you think you're doin' here, Kaiba," growled Joey as he, Tristen, and Yugi all stepped protectively in front of Tea.

Kaiba kept his face as emotionless as possible when he replied, "I'm here to talk to the girl."

"What makes you think that we'll let you after what you did to her?" said Tristen, who looked like he wanted to punch Kaiba in the face.

Before anyone could start a fight, however, Tea walked past her friends towards Kaiba. "It's okay," she said, "I can handle him myself." The others began to protest, but she gave them a reassuring smile before walking with Kaiba out of the shop.

Several awkward moments passed before either of them spoke. Finally, Kaiba muttered, "I've been thinking about what you said." Tea gave him a confused look, so he continued, "You said that I would get rusty unless I kept practicing. So, I decided that I will allow you to continue your lessons until the day of the dinner banquet. Then, I will repay you for your services."

Tea thought for a couple of minutes. She was still upset about what happened the previous night, but part of her wanted to forgive the young CEO and give him another chance. After a few more moments, she came up with a decision and said, "Alright, I guess I'll continue. Do you want me to come over tonight?"

Kaiba muttered "Yes" and began to pull something out of his briefcase. Tea's eyes widened with surprise when she saw that the object was a rose, and she was even more surprised when he placed it in her hands. Before she could ask about it, Kaiba simply stated, "Interpret that however you want." Then, the young man turned around and walked towards his limo.

Tea observed the single rose in her grasp. After looking at it for a few minutes, she came to a conclusion that it was possibly the closest thing to an apology that she was going to get from Kaiba.

That night, and the nights that followed, things began to go smoothly again. Both Tea and Kaiba agreed not to discuss what happened between them. Instead, they just focused on practicing the dance steps. Tea's friends were still worried that Kaiba would still hurt her, but she reassured them that she would alright.

Still, it became apparent that things were beginning to change between Tea and Kaiba. Kaiba eventually stopped insulting Joey and Tristen every time the attempted to insult him. For her part, Tea tried to get them to stop trying to pick fights with Kaiba. The young CEO even started acting slightly nicer to Yugi, who was happily surprised. Soon, the girl's friends began to speculate exactly what was going on between their friend and Kaiba.

Even Mokuba started noticing the difference. One day, after Tea finished practicing with Kaiba, Mokuba came up to her and asked, "Do you like my brother?" Not only was Tea shocked that the boy asked such a question, but she wasn't quite sure how she should answer. The girl was still unsure about her feelings towards the young CEO, but she knew that there was definitely something there. Still, even if she did like Kaiba, she was afraid that her feelings were unrequited.

After thinking about an appropriate answer, Tea replied, "I really don't know. I guess I do, but I'm not sure." She was a little surprised when Mokuba began to grin. "Well, I think my brother likes you," he said as he left, leaving a shocked Tea behind him.

Meanwhile, Kaiba was facing a dilemma. The dinner banquet was now only two days away, but he still didn't have a date. Sure, he could have anyone that he wanted, yet there were only a few people he could actually tolerate. Most of his fan girls were quite annoying, and he wasn't sure if he would be comfortable dancing with anyone else besides Tea.

Kaiba sighed. The dancer had been popping into his thought during the last couple of days. He never wanted to get attached to anybody, but now it seemed that it was too late for him to stop himself. Though he constantly denied it to himself, the truth was that he was developing feelings towards the girl. He wasn't quite sure what he should do, but he knew that had to do something.

Then he got an idea. Perhaps, he could settle things at the dinner banquet. After all, since Tea already knew the dance and he could now tolerate her more than most of the other girls, she would make the perfect candidate for a date.

When Kaiba asked her to be his date for the dinner banquet, Tea was speechless. She mentally wondered why he asked her but figured that he must have his reasons. After a few seconds of contemplation, she agreed. At least now she would have one last dance with Kaiba.

Soon, it was the night of the dinner banquet. Kaiba was dressed in a tuxedo while Tea wore a beautiful blue dress that Kaiba bought her. The girl tried to enjoy herself, but she couldn't help but notice that Kaiba was ignoring her and was busy talking to the man he was trying make a deal with. 'After all,' she thought, 'that's the reason why we are here in the first place.'

However, her mood quickly changed when it came time for the couples to dance. When they went to the dance floor, Kaiba took Tea in his arms and they looked into each other's eyes. Tea noticed that his eyes weren't as cold as they usually were; in fact, they seemed somewhat warm. When they started dancing, it felt as if everybody else had disappeared. Even if it was Tea's last dance with Kaiba, she knew she would treasure it forever.

After the party was over, Kaiba and Tea rode in the limo towards Tea's home to drop her off. There were a few moments of awkward silence, before Tea asked, "Do you think to got that deal?" Kaiba nodded in confirmation, and a few more moments of silence followed. After a while, Tea whispered, "Well, I guess you don't need me any more." Kaiba didn't reply, and nothing more was said during the rest of the ride.

When they reached her place, Tea got out of the limo and turned to look at Kaiba one last time. Before she could turn back around, Kaiba said, "I have some free time in a few days. If you want to, I can take you out for dinner." At first, Tea was shocked, but a smile quickly brightened her face. "Sure" she replied, and that was when she noticed that Kaiba was smiling too. It was a slight, barely noticeable smile but Tea still saw it. Then the door was shut and the limo began to move.

As she watched the limo drive away, Tea thought, 'Perhaps, there is some hope for the two of us.'


End file.
